Inspired by Faith and Friendships, Casey O’Brien ’17 Doesn’t Back Down from Cancer
Reprinted from Traditions, Winter 2019-20
April 3, 2020
Editorial Note: The following is an excerpt from a speech given by Casey O’Brien ’17 to the Cretin Banquet in September 2019.
I began high school in the fall of 2013 and became the starting quarterback for the 9th grade A team. I was well on my way to my goal of playing varsity football when my life changed forever. I was about halfway through my freshman season when my left knee started to hurt. My parents and I went to every doctor we could find, but no one could figure out what was wrong. It got to the point where I was walking around on crutches to keep weight off it during the school day just so that I could practice. This was when we knew we needed to get an answer.
On December 14, 2013, we went in to get an MRI. By noon, I was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, an extremely rare form of bone cancer. I was just 13 years old. I had no idea what this meant, but I knew it wasn’t good. My first question was, “When can I skate again? I’m missing hockey season.” The doctor looked at me and said, “Right now, we are just trying to save your leg.”
I will never forget the outpouring of support from my fellow classmates at Cretin-Derham Hall. I was sitting in my hospital room, just two days before Christmas, going through my first round of chemotherapy when I got a text from one of the seniors at school. “Check your email,” he said. I immediately went to my email and saw a video of all 1,200 students singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” I am not a crier, but I sobbed after seeing how much the other students (many of whom did not know me) cared about me. It was optional to attend, but every single student showed up. That is one reason why this school is so special.
The doctors had asked me what my plan was moving forward with school, seeing as I was going to be in the hospital for six days at a time to receive chemo. “Most kids will take a year off and come back when they are ready,” they told me.
“So I just quit school and my friends go on without me?” I wanted no part in that. With the help of my advisor Mike Brewer, the amazing Dr. Janet Watson, and too many other teachers and staff to count, I was able to FaceTime into every class while sitting in the hospital. I even worked my way onto the Honor Roll. My favorite part of the day would be when a teacher would leave the room and one of my buddies would jump into the camera and make me laugh. It always seemed to come at the right time. When I was out of the hospital, I was supposed to lay in bed to rest and recover. I chose to go to school and attend class for the full school day. I was just a freshman but felt like I was a celebrity because everyone wanted to talk to me and see me. There were always arguments on who got to push me in my wheelchair to the next class. I got to decide, and the senior girls always won.
There were many highs and many lows throughout all this, but there were two things that CDH gave me that stayed consistent.
First was my faith. Coming into high school, I went to church on Sunday, but that was only because my parents made me. After being diagnosed with cancer, Father Forliti ’54 was one of the first people to call me. From there, we created a friendship that I will take with me the rest of my life. He has taught me to lean on God in the good times and the bad, and more importantly to trust in the plan God has given me. Classwork and Mass at CDH allowed me to expand on this part of my life, and my faith has now become is extremely important to me. I am now in college and I do not miss a Sunday. I think God has chosen me to be His Cancer Warrior.
The next thing CDH gave me is friendships. I was lucky enough to meet a group of buddies that mean the absolute world to me. This same group of boys were sitting next to my bed as I went through my first round of chemotherapy, shaved their heads when I lost my hair, brought my books down to the hospital and helped with homework, gave up their Friday nights to play video games when I was sick, had my back when my cancer relapsed, believed in me when I said I was going to play football for CDH while fighting cancer, almost got thrown out of the stadium when I made my first career start (won’t forget that one), and most of all, have never treated me like I had cancer. It has never been brought up once.
All in all, I would not trade my four years at CretinDerham Hall for anything. As I look back, now lucky enough to play college football at the University of Minnesota, I am extremely proud of where I went to high school. There are so many amazing people who took care of me, and continue to be a part of my story. The faith and the friendships that I developed during my time at CDH are two of the most important pieces of my life. This school and this community will always hold a very special place in my heart.
Casey O’Brien ’17, cancer survivor, was the featured story for ESPN’s College Game Day and The Today Show in 2019. He was also named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, Oct. 21, 2019.